Let me start off by saying this much: when I first saw the trailers for Night at the Museum, I was not impressed. I knew that it would probably be kind of stupid, what with Ben Stiller running around a museum full of animate inanimate objects. Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt? His movies, well his comedies, have really deteriorated recently, and I just knew he'd finally have a legitimate (?) opportunity to say "bully!"
Then, I talked to a few people who saw this movie who tried to convince me it was really better than they expected and not a bad movie. Ok, I said. I guess it'll be a rental, and now that I'm in an off-season for theater, I've started to rent movies.
Night at the Museum is actually more along the lines of what I expected. It was kind of dull, and there was really not much to the plot. The worst part is, it wasn't even that funny. It was a good concept (based on a book, I believe), but nothing to get excited over.
Larry (Stiller) is a down-on-his-luck divorce who can't seem to hold a job or an apartment and is becoming something of a disappointment to his son and ex-wife. In a last resort move, an employment agency sends him to New York's Museum of Natural History (is there really such a place? I'm asking...) to be the night watchman. Trouble is, the job is more than Larry bargained for, especially since he is replacing three old geezers played by Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobb, and (crikey) Mickey Rooney who have been the night watchmen for decades. When sunset strikes, a mystical Egyptian tablet brings everything in the museum to life, and Larry must rein it all in without losing any of the exhibits or his job in the process.
Frankly, I was bored. The movie was slow, the plot thin, and the comedy missing. I watched this in two parts because I almost fell asleep during the first go-round.
Were there any redeeming features to this movie? The visual effects were ok, I guess. The acting was really wooden, though. All the potentials for true comedy were squandered. I sort of laughed when Larry got slapped around by Dexter the monkey and then later tried to have a verbal tete-a-tete with him. Owen Wilson as this little cowboy named Jeddidiah (if he's real, I've never heard of him) was simply annoying.
The only other true bright spot was Ricky Gervais as the museum director. He was kind of weirdly hilarious, and it was hopeful for the movie when he would appear (those hopes were mainly dashed, though, because his appearances were infrequent and didn't last very long).
On my patented ratings scale, I would have to give this movie a 5.5. Somewhere between cute and utterly mediocre. I think Ricky Gervais is what pumped that half point on to the rating now that I've had time to digest and write about it.
Night at the Museum does not pass my test, however. I will not be buying it. I can't see myself watching it again when it was such a struggle the first time. This night was just plain too boring.